farmdoc's blog post number 4

Last Tuesday was cool, sunny and autumnal – my first full day home in Mole Creek after half a week in Victoria seeing my dearest ones. My day was going smoothly, I was well into my list of things to do, and I was preparing for a stroll through the bush. Then at 2 p.m. the fire call came. Some guys in Dairy Plains – about half-way from here to Deloraine – were cutting firewood, and the fire they lit to burn what they termed ‘the rubbish’, had escaped when the wind changed. So I was one of six volunteer firies who came in two appliances to help them. It took us a couple of hours to get the fire out, and I arrived home about 5 p.m. Was I unhappy or angry? Not a bit, for I had spent time with mates physically working outdoors with splendid views to distant hills, practising my pump, hose and radio skills, and assisting people in need. Yes, these woodcutters were at fault because they neither cleared the understorey well enough nor anticipated the wind change. Anyone can be guilty of insufficient preparation. But not everyone is fortunate enough to have the fitness, skills and time to be the helper that I was on Tuesday.